1. Field
Various features pertain to communication and/or data networks. At least one implementation pertains to a method, system, and device for providing quality of service information to adaptively allocate network resources and modify traffic and priority policy.
2. Background
Communication networks serve to transfer various types of information including data, voice, audio, video, or other forms of content and control signals. The Open System Interconnection (OSI) model provides structured layers to implement communications across a network. The OSI layers define standards at each level of the network: physical (layer 1), data link (layer 2), network (layer 3), transport (layer 4), session (layer 5), presentation (layer 6), and application (layer 7).
Because networks have a limited bandwidth through which to transfer this information, they typically prioritize the order in which information is transmitted. This prioritizing of information on a network is commonly used to guarantee a quality of service (QoS) or the particular type of transmission (e.g., data, voice, video, etc.). For example, time-sensitive information, such as voice packets for a telephonic call, may be given priority over less time-sensitive information, such as text messages.
The current technique to configure QoS support during setup of a given network is to specify the committed bandwidth and priority for each type of service. This works well on a network that has static bandwidth with stable link speed, and known or predictable latency and packet loss characteristics. Conventional QoS techniques typically assume a dedicated link speed, such as a T1 connection providing 1.5 Mbps or ADSL connection operating at about 100 Kbps. Bandwidth usage configuration usually happens during the setup of QoS policy and is not easily adjustable after that point. A static link speed is assumed and used for rate-limiting configuration of one more service classes. No real-time feedback is available to make QoS policy adjustments when the bandwidth changes dynamically. This creates problems in implementing QoS when the link speed changes, as would be the case where the link degrades for instance. Thus, conventional QoS policy configurations are conservative in their bandwidth allocations and wasteful of network resources, or overly ambitious in their bandwidth allocations and perform poorly in adverse link conditions.
For a network that has dynamic bandwidth characteristics, such as a wireless network (e.g., an evolutionary data optimized (EVDO) network), the current QoS policy techniques would either be ineffective to police the traffic or require an administrator to be way too conservative, and therefore wasteful, with the precious network resources. That is, in networks where the bandwidth may vary or the amount and types of information transferred are unpredictable, it becomes difficult to allocate bandwidth among the services (e.g., data, voice, video, control signals, etc.) supported.